For years, Nokia sold mobile phones with the slogan "Connecting people," but following the sale of its phone business to Microsoft, the company is looking for the next big thing.

A US$100 million investment that Nokia announced Monday suggests that may be "Connecting cars."

Microsoft's acquisition of the phone business leaves Nokia with three activities: its network equipment business, by far its largest remaining source of revenue; its patent portfolio, and the mapping and location services business Here, which accounts for less than a tenth of the company's revenue.

For Paul Asel, a partner at Nokia Growth Partners, cars are the new people, with vehicles becoming a new platform for technology adoption very similar to phones or tablets.

That insight is not unique to Nokia: The Car Connectivity Consortium's MirrorLink interface makes Android phone apps accessible from dashboard displays, and versions for other platforms are in the works. It has the support of automotive manufacturers including General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Toyota and Volkswagen. Nokia is also a member, as are mobile phone rivals Samsung Electronics, HTC, and LG Electronics.

Apple, predictably, is developing its own system, CarPlay, for putting iOS apps on dashboards and has already signed up Mirrorlink's automotive backers (with the exception of Volkswagen) to produce CarPlay compatible vehicles. BMW, Ford, Nissan and Opel have also committed to adopt CarPlay, according to Apple.